Wigan family: Kilhey Court meal shambles ruined our Christmas Day

Eric Simcock and his nearest and dearest ended up having steak pies from the freezer for their Christmas dinner after a debacle trying to eat out at Macdonald Kilhey Court.

Mr Simcock and his party of seven, which included a six-month-old baby, departed the plush Chorley Road venue two hours after arriving without even making it into the dining room.

There were claims of chaotic scenes as Wiganers were told their tables were not ready or were complaining to senior staff after waiting for hours and only having one or two of their courses.

Staff were also accused of telling guests they had turned up at the wrong time when they had not done so.

Mr Simcock, from Pemberton, said the venue had completely spoiled the day after paying £70 per head for what should have been a memorable dining experience.

He said: “It was absolutely abysmal and a complete shambles. Christmas Day was ruined.

“I don’t know what was going on but it was a right mess. We arrived 10 minutes before our booking but were told the table wasn’t ready and we were to wait in the bar.

“After an hour we were still waiting and complained. By this time we had spoken to another family that had been waiting two hours.

“Eventually we found the manager surrounded by guests demanding a refund. Some of them had been seated for two hours and only had one course.

“I’ve also seen on social media someone who had to leave after four hours and hadn’t had all their courses.

“We eventually left with other disgruntled guests with an IOU and a distressed baby.

“We never even got to sit down and it was the same for one other family. We had some steak pies in the freezer so we ended up defrosting them and eating them when we got home.

“The other thing which really annoyed me was that after we complained they said we should have been there at 1pm. I’ve since looked at the email and that confirmed we had booked for 3.30pm.”

It was a nightmare for Mr Simcock and his wife and daughter along with his sister-in-law, her son and his wife along with their young child.

The hotel has since revealed that they had reached out to the family over the situation.

A spokesman for Macdonald Kilhey Court said: “Confusion over the booking time meant that when the party arrived, the restaurant was full. We did our best to accommodate but unfortunately were unable to do so. We have already been in communication with the customer and have now resolved the situation.”